Where the taiga has already ended, but the Arctic has not yet begun, the tundra zone stretches. This territory occupies more than three million squares, has a width of about 500 kilometers. What does the tundra look like? This is a permafrost zone, there are almost no plants, very few animals. This mysterious territory keeps many amazing secrets.
Tundra zone
The tundra zone stretches along the shores of the northern seas. Wherever you look, a cold plain stretches for thousands of kilometers, completely devoid of forest. The polar night lasts for two months. Summer is very short and cold. And even with the onset of the polar day, frosts often occur. Cold, sharp winds blow across the tundra every year. For many days in a row in winter, a blizzard is the mistress of the plains.
The top layer of soil thaws only 50 centimeters deep during the cold unkind summer. Below this level lies a layer of permafrost that never melts. Neither melt water nor rain water passes to the depth. The tundra zone is a huge number of lakes and swamps, the soil is wet everywhere, because water evaporates due to low temperaturesextremely slowly. A very harsh climate in the tundra, creating almost unbearable conditions for all living things. However, life here is somewhat more diverse than in the Arctic.
Plant world
What does the tundra look like? Its surface is mostly very large bumps. Their size reaches a height of up to 14 meters and up to 15 meters wide. The sides are steep, they consist of peat, the inner part is almost always frozen. Between the hillocks at intervals of up to 2.5 meters there are swamps, the so-called Yersei Samoyeds. The sides of the hillocks are covered with mosses and lichens, cloudberries are often found right there. Their body is formed by mosses and tundra bushes.
Toward the rivers, to the south, where tundra forests can be observed, the hilly zone turns into sphagnum peat bogs. Cloudberry, bagun, cranberry, gonobol, birch yernik grow here. Sphagnum peat bogs go deep into the forest zone. To the east of the Taman Ridge, mounds are very rare, only in low, wetlands.
Tundra subzones
The flat areas of Siberia are occupied by peaty tundra. Mosses and tundra shrubs stretch like a continuous film over the surface of the earth. Mostly reindeer moss covers the ground, but cloudberry meadows can also be found. This type of tundra is especially common between Pechora and Timan.
In high places, where water does not stagnate, but the wind roams freely, there is a fissured tundra. The dry, cracked soil is broken up into small patches containing nothing but frozen earth. Grasses, shrubs and saxifrage can hide in cracks.
To those whoI wonder what the tundra looks like, it will be useful to know that there is also fertile soil here. The herbaceous-shrub tundra is rich in shrubs, mosses and lichens are almost absent.
The most typical for this natural area are reindeer moss and lichen, due to which the tundra is painted in light gray. In addition, small shrubs huddle to the ground, standing out against the background of reindeer moss in spots. The southern regions boast small islands of forest. Dwarf willow species and birch dwarf birch are fairly common.
Animal world
The way the tundra looks does not affect the number of animals permanently residing in this region. One of the common inhabitants of the tundra is the furry-legged buzzard. Birds nest right on the ground or rocks. The white-tailed eagle - a native of the tundra - lives on the seashore. Gyrfalcon, found in the northernmost regions of the region, is the most common bird in the region. All birds prey on partridges and small rodents.
In this natural area live not only birds, but also furry, and of different sizes. So, of the animals of the tundra, the largest is the reindeer. This species is the most adapted to climate conditions. In Europe, it almost died out, there were representatives only in Norway. Deer are also rare on the Kola Peninsula. They were replaced by domestic deer.
Deer, in addition to humans, have a natural enemy - the wolf. These predators have a much thicker undercoat than their forest counterparts. In addition to these animals, polar bears, musk oxen, arctic foxes,Parry's gophers, lemmings, mountain hares and wolverines.
Climate
The tundra climate is very harsh. The temperature in a short summer does not rise above 10 degrees, the average temperature in winter is not higher than minus 50. A thick layer of snow falls by September, only increasing the layers every month.
Despite the fact that the sun hardly appears above the horizon during the whole long winter night, there is no impenetrable darkness here. What does the tundra look like on a polar night? Even in moonless periods, it is quite light. After all, dazzling white snow lies around, perfectly reflecting the light of distant stars. In addition, the northern lights give excellent lighting, decorating the sky with different colors. In some hours, thanks to him, it becomes light as day.
What the tundra looks like in summer and winter
In general, summer can hardly be called warm, because the average temperature does not rise above 10 degrees. In such months, the sun does not leave the sky at all, trying to have time to warm the frozen earth at least a little. But what does the tundra look like in summer?
In relatively warm months, water covers the tundra, turning vast areas into huge swamps. The natural zone of the tundra is covered with lush color at the very beginning of summer. Given that it is very short, all plants tend to have time to complete the development cycle as soon as possible.
In winter, there is a very thick layer of snow on the ground. Since almost the entire territory lies beyond the Arctic Circle, the tundra natural zone is devoid ofsunshine most of the year. Winter lasts a long time, much longer than in other areas of the globe. There are no adjacent seasons in this territory, that is, neither spring nor autumn.
Wonders of the Tundra
The most famous miracle is, of course, the northern lights. On a dark January night, stripes of bright colors suddenly light up against the black background of a velvet sky. Green and blue columns, flecked with pink and red, glide across the sky. The dance of radiance is like the flashes of a giant bonfire that has reached the sky. People who saw the northern lights for the first time will never again be able to forget this amazing sight that has been disturbing the minds of people for thousands of years.
Our ancestors believed that the lights in the sky bring happiness, as they are a manifestation of the celebration of the gods. And if the gods have a holiday, they will certainly give gifts to people. Others thought that the radiance was the wrath of the god of fire, who was angry with the human race, so they expected only troubles and even misfortunes from the multi-colored heavenly splashes.
Whatever you think, it's worth seeing the northern lights. If the opportunity ever arises, it is better to be in the tundra in January, when the northern lights flare up most often in the sky.
